That panic moment came to us recently. It’s the sort of thing you hope will never happen. But you know, no matter how careful you are, it’s still quite likely to happen at some point or other. Our boy was missing. We were at a supermarket and realised Ian was missing only when we reached the basement car park.
We knew where we had last seen Ian. He was sitting in the trolley at the supermarket checkout counter. He had to be taken out of the trolley so that we could properly arrange our shopping bags in the trolley. Vanessa was kicking up a fuss about not being able to sit in the trolley.
Ian was standing with us then. After we were done at the checkout, we headed towards the basement car park. We assumed Ian would be following us. He usually follows us. We don’t have to drag him around. I’ve seen how some kids have pretty much a mind of their own and would wander off in their own direction, sometimes quite persistent in following whatever fancies them. Ian doesn’t usually do that. He would follow us.
Somehow, it was different this time.
So, when we realised Ian had gone missing, we dashed back upstairs to the supermarket. Luckily for us, this was a pretty small place. There’s just one supermarket, and 4 F&B outlets. Oh yes, there are probably some offices on the upper floors. But otherwise, the main retail occupant is the supermarket.
There he was, still standing in front of the checkout counters. Not quite at the same spot we thought we left him at. He probably did follow us a few steps, or perhaps he had wandered off a little after losing us. He was not crying. He did have a worried look. But thankfully he was still standing there.
It’s time to educate our kids about what to do when they lose sigh of their mummy or daddy.
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